This book wasn’t boom great, nor was it a thriller by any definition but it was still an entertaining read.
This book didn't feel like a cozy , yes it had the elements and formula of a cozy but it was al little more wine than beer in my opinion.

Katherine Goff has been living in the region of Burgundy for three years but she still doesn't feel that she has been accepted by the locals.. She tries to join in on different village activities so that the natives will acknowledge her as one of them. When another non-native is found dead at the bottom of the stairs in his home, the new widow pleads with Katherine to find out what happened. Was it really an accident or was it murder?

I found a hard time getting through the beginning of this story. I'm not sure if it was the great number of characters being introduced or the fact that their wasn't enough character definition. I'm hoping that the next installment will remedy this shortfall.

The book description had me at "A French Village Mystery". I fell in love with mysteries when I read my first Agatha Christie novel at the age of 10. The small, English village mystery and the cozy detective novel have held my attention (whether it be set in England, India, Switzerland or Canada)...so when I discovered there was a new mystery series set in the French countryside, I couldn't wait to read it. The author does a wonderful job of introducing us to the small town of Reigny-sur-Canne. The scenery and the food...oh, the food! We follow an american, Katherine Goff and her husband, Michael, who have left the US to move to France 3 years ago or so and Katherine is desperate to be more than the "Ugly Americans"...she speaks french and she wants to fit in with her new neighbors. This being a first book in the series, there were tons of characters introduced, each with their own back story, and I honestly found it a little hard to keep everyone straight. I was constantly mixing Pippa and Penny up, but by the end, I finally had a good grasp on it. I really enjoyed how Katherine, our lead, is a woman "of a certain age", with no children, a loving and supportive husband, and following her dreams. It was an interesting glimpse into how Americans are treated in the french countryside (are they really seen as outsiders?) and to read about how the distrust of Germans still runs deep. The book moved a little slow for me and felt a little disjointed. I would've preferred a little more murder mystery versus a constant "how am I going to fit in" storyline. But maybe that's just it, even as adults, we never lose that craving to be accepted. However, first books are always a little rough while you set the stage and introduce the characters. I am intrigued enough by this little village of characters to read the next story.

I received a copy of this title from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Summary from Goodreads:

"After three years of living in the small town of Reigny-sur-Canne, all Katherine Goff really wants is to be accepted by her neighbors into their little community. But as an American expat living in the proud region of Burgundy, that's no easy task.

When the elderly Frenchman who lives in the village chateau is found dead at the bottom of a staircase, the town is turned into a hot bed of gossip and suspicion, and Katherine suddenly finds herself drawn deeper and deeper into the small town's secrets. A motherless teenager, a malicious French widow, a brash music producer, and a would-be Agatha Christie are among those caught up in a storm that threatens to turn Katherine's quiet life upside down. As more and more of the villagers' secrets are brought to light, Katherine must try to figure out who, if anyone, in the town she can trust, and which one of her neighbors just might be a killer."

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed my time reading this book! It is always delightful when a book just transports you to another place. Reading this book made me feel like I was there in the French countryside with Katherine and her husband. I've never had the chance to visit France but I could certainly picture what it must be like with this book. The descriptions of the food, the countryside....I just couldn't get enough of all of it! This was a quiet read that I just took my time with. I loved Katherine's character so much. The descriptions of the different items she would find at the market and the little thrift shop finds she had come across just fit in so perfectly with the atmosphere of the book. I really can't say enough good things about just the feel of this book. Although there was a murder mystery happening, what I enjoyed most about this book was everything else. Don't get me wrong, I found the mystery portion interesting but it was the other parts that made this cozy mystery stand out for me!

Another thing that I really enjoyed about this book was all of the other characters. There were a variety of characters in this book each different from the other. It made the book fun to read as you never knew what some of the characters were getting up to. I liked the chances that we had to get to know some of these characters as it also helped to make me feel like I was really there within the story. As to the mystery itself, I guessed parts of it but was incorrect as to the reasons why. In fact, I really missed a good portion of the whodunnit completely which made the ending more intense than I had expected. I seriously felt like I was questioning what was going on right until the author decided to share the truth with the reader. It was a solid read and I'm eager to visit this quiet French village again!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am hoping that this is the beginning to a cozy mystery series. It would be really great to have the chance to visit with these characters (and especially Katherine) again! I loved my time in this world that the author created - I almost wasn't ready to leave by the time the story ended. I really think that those readers who like a quieter mystery should give this one a shot as I'm sure that they will enjoy it as much as I did! Highly recommended!

Bottom Line: A book whose atmosphere just pulled me into the world that the author created. I loved every minute of it!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.

This French cozy mystery set in Burgundy was a bit of a disappointment. It was charming and light, yet most of the characters were not very likable, including the protagonist, Katherine Goff,

How many amateur detective novels have you read that are set in a quaint English village? Tons, am I right? Now don’t get me wrong, I love my English village mysteries but sometimes it’s nice to have a change of scenery.

The French country side is the perfect setting for this mystery. When I think of France all I think of is Paris, but there is a whole other beautiful countryside that often gets overshadowed by the lights of Paris. I loved how this story brought life to the French countryside. I am ready to buy a little chateau in the country and drink wine…..now if only there was a murder to solve.

After three years of living in the small town of Reigny-sur-Canne, all Katherine Goff really wants is to be accepted by her neighbors into their little community. But as an American expat living in the proud region of Burgundy, that is no easy task.

When the elderly Frenchman who lives in the village chateau is found dead at the bottom of a staircase, the town is turned into a hot bed of gossip and suspicion, and Katherine suddenly finds herself drawn deeper and deeper into the small town s secrets.


A motherless teenager, a malicious French widow, a brash music producer, and a would-be Agatha Christie are among those caught up in a storm that threatens to turn Katherine s quiet life upside down. As more and more of the villagers’ secrets are brought to light, Katherine must try to figure out who, if anyone, in the town she can trust, and which one of her neighbors just might be a killer.

From critically acclaimed author, Susan C. Shea, comes Love & Death in Burgundy, an atmospheric mystery filled with good Chablis, french cheese, and, of course, murder (summary from Goodreads).

This novel wasn’t earth shattering, nor was it a thriller by any definition but it was still an entertaining read! I wasn’t really sure what to expect…..I guess in my mind, I thought this would be more of a cozy mystery with cats and wine, but it wasn’t. Sure it had elements of a cozy mystery but I felt like it was more sophisticated than that in my opinion.

I liked Katherine for the most part, she reminded me of Agatha Raisin for some reason…..she wants to fit in with her villagers but just can’t no matter how hard she tries, maybe that’s why she reminded me of Agatha Raisin. Anyway, Katherine and her husband have this bohemian feel about them which I liked. The only thing that I didn’t care too much for was at times Katherine could be really self centered but for the most part I wasn’t completely put off by her and liked her. The story is just as much about her attempts to fit in as it is a murder mystery which is a nice balance.

There are two narrators/POVs which I personally didn’t care for. The first POV is Katherine, but the second is the village thief’s daughter, fifteen year old Jeannette. Through Jeannette the audience gets a better idea of what really goes on in the village and the secrets the residents try to keep. I suppose Jeannette’s POV is necessary in that regard but for me, I guess I just expected the bulk of the mystery to be from Katherine’s perspective.

The mystery was well thought out and concluded appropriately. I didn’t feel like there were any loose ends and I felt that all the lingering questions I had were answered. I was generally satisfied with the entire book, but for some reason I wasn’t wholly captivated. It was good and well written but there was some rustle that was lacking in my opinion but I just can’t quite put my finger on what exactly.

The novel has a lot of atmospheric elements and the setting alone recommends this book. It has a lot of humor and gossipy villagers with an interesting mystery and likable protagonist but I just felt like it lacked some polish to make it a GREAT read. I would recommend this book to fans of cozy mysteries but if you are looking for a ‘thriller’, I would look elsewhere.

Challenge/Book Summary:

Book: Love and Death in Burgundy by Susan C Shea

ebook
Published May 2nd 2017 by Minotaur Books
ISBN 1250113016 (ISBN13: 9781250113016)
Review copy provided by: Author/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This book counts toward: NA

Hosted by: NA
Books for Challenge Completed: NA
Recommendation: 3 out of 5

Genre: Cozy mysteries, detective novels

Memorable lines/quotes:

Love & Death in Burgundy
The French Village Mysteries #1
Susan C. Shea
Minotaur Books, May 2017
ISBN 978-1-250-11300-9
Hardcover

From the publisher—

After three years of living in the small town of Reigny-sur-Canne, all Katherine Goff really wants is to be accepted by her neighbors into their little community. But as an American expat living in the proud region of Burgundy, that’s no easy task.

When the elderly Frenchman who lives in the village chateau is found dead at the bottom of a staircase, the town is turned into a hot bed of gossip and suspicion, and Katherine suddenly finds herself drawn deeper and deeper into the small town’s secrets. A motherless teenager, a malicious French widow, a brash music producer, and a would-be Agatha Christie are among those caught up in a storm that threatens to turn Katherine’s quiet life upside down. As more and more of the villagers’ secrets are brought to light, Katherine must try to figure out who, if anyone, in the town she can trust, and which one of her neighbors just might be a killer.

I almost didn’t get past the first couple of chapters in this book because, not only was the lunch party a disaster for poor Katherine, it was a disaster for me. Rarely have I encountered a group of characters that completely turned me off so early in a story. Many Americans think the French are rude and unfriendly; I’ve never been there so I don’t really know. My experience in another country (Greece) is that those who live in the countryside are much friendlier than the city folk but that surely wasn’t the case in this small French village. To be fair, though, much of the rudeness and unpleasant attitude came from expats, American and British with a German (naturalized French) thrown in for good measure. No matter what country these people at the lunch represented, at least half of them were so disagreeable that I wondered why I would want to continue in their company.

But…I pushed on and, wonder of wonders, I began to like some of these people. The main character, Katherine, annoyed me a bit with her need to be accepted into the community and I wanted to tell her to ease up, that having lived there for three years is a pretty good sign that, well, it is what it is. Still, I understood her sort of oozing into doing her own investigating when the almost universally disliked Albert Bellegarde is found dead, perhaps murdered, and I enjoyed the way her snooping led to a better look at the villagers and the expats.

On an interesting sidenote, the feelings some had against Albert, especially his German background which they couldn’t help tying to the Nazis, rightfully or not, reminded me of the emotions that run high in some parts of the Southern US regarding the Confederate legacy. I live here in the South and, quite honestly, understand some of the emotional attachment to the past from a historical standpoint even while I deplore the hatefulness. Ms. Shea has shown, in an unobtrusive way, that grudges and hatred can live a very long time no matter who or where.

The mystery here is actually pretty lightweight but Love & Death in Burgundy is, at its heart, a warm, welcoming visit in a charming village. Reigny sounds like a delightful place and the food had me salivating. I’d love to visit the French countryside someday to see for myself what the people and the scenery are like, not to mention gorge myself on some wonderful food. In the meantime, I’ll be waiting to see what Katherine and her neighbors will get up to in Dressed for Death in Burgundy next May.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, June 2017.

LOVE & DEATH IN BURGUNDY is a charming, light mystery that is sure to please fans of the cozy and traditional mystery genre. The French setting is a refreshing change of venue in a genre that is flooded with English and small town American locales.

American artist Katherine and her musician husband Michael have lived in a small village in Burgundy for three years but are still treated as outsiders despite Katherine’s desperate attempts to fit in. She hopes that her role in the upcoming fete and her looming art show will help, but nothing seems to work until a prominent villager falls to his death in his chateau. Now it seems that Katherine’s house is gossip central with a never ending stream of local visitors. Was Albert Bellegarde’s death an accident or murder? Everyone has a theory, most of them involving tourists, Nazis, or Gypsies. Of course, a local resident would never sink to committing the crime, right? Katherine eventually discovers the truth at great danger to herself. Hopefully, going forward her neighbors will think more of her.

Told from two perspectives, our protagonist Katherine and the village thief’s 15 year old daughter Jeannette, readers get a good sense of what really goes on in the village and the secrets the residents try to keep under wraps. In addition to finding out the circumstances of Albert’s death, there are threads concerning Michael’s music career and Jeannette’s first taste of teen romance. All of these threads come together to make a satisfying read.

More important than the mystery is the portrayal of daily life in France, and I certainly wish I could while away my days leisurely eating cheese, drinking wine, and soaking up the sun. I greatly enjoyed my time with Katherine and her neighbors, and I hope there will be more adventures to come. I recommend LOVE & DEATH IN BURGUNDY to readers looking for an interesting variety of characters, a novel setting, and a gentle mystery.

3.5 stars
This mystery has an unbeatable setting: a small French village, where Americans Katherine Goff and her husband Michael live. The small town setting has its share of feuds and ancient grumblings, and this only becomes worse when an elderly resident is found dead at the foot of the stairs. Was it murder or a simple accident?

This is a quite readable cozy, although Katherine's constant angst over not being fully accepted by the villagers becomes wearying. Her husband had an almost-brilliant music career years ago, and he too is plagued by insecurities.

Her befriending of a young French girl is one of the more endearing features of this novel, and the various local and ex-pat characters all have a role to play. The ending is almost too tidy, but it it is a satisfying conclusion.

I received an ARC of this book via Net Galley in return for my honest review.

It's always starting a new series because you're entering a new world for the first time. There's a new place, new characters, and in mysteries a shockingly high death rate. This book starts in the garden of Katherine Goff's home in the Burgundy countryside. Katherine is an American artist who is trying desperately to fit into her new home. While she is fluent in French it hasn't been as much of a help as she expected and she is finding herself much more of an outsider than she wants to be. I really liked that this was not a happy little welcoming small town full on unicorns and rainbows. There's a distinct social order that isn't easily broken through. There are lots of politics and outsiders aren't particularly welcomed with opened arms. I thought it was very realistic that Katherine isn't just okay with the rejection. She really wants to fix it and tries to become more involved in village life in ways that made sense.

The mystery is one of too many suspects but no real motives and I enjoyed watching everything unravel. While this is a mystery but the book focuses equally on village life so while Katherine is looking for the killer the reader is also seeing the repercussions of the murder resonate with the other characters.

I had a few issues with the book. This was the first book in the series so it did feel like it got a little slow at time as everything was being setup. I also didn't love the ending. While the reveal made since I'm not sure I really felt like justice was done. This may be a difference in the French and US laws but I did feel a little unsatisfied.

So while I didn't find the book flawless I did find it entertaining and I really enjoyed the world that Shea created. I'm looking forward to revisiting Reigny-sur-Canne and seeing what's happening next!

Love and Death in Burgundy by Susan C. Shea is a cozy mystery set in Reigny-sur-Canne, France. Katherine Goff and her husband, Michael own a home in Reigny. They moved to the area three years prior. Katherine has convinced the mayor to let her organize the annual Feast of the Assumption fete. Katherine is hoping the event will be a success, and it will finally get her accepted by the locals (who are leery of foreigners). Katherine receives a call from Adele Bellegarde. Adele and her husband, Albert own Chateau de Bellegarde. Adele states that Albert is dead and wants Katherine to come over quickly. Katherine along with Michael arrive just after Henri Soral, Reigny’s sheriff. Albert is at the bottom of the very narrow and steep steps of the chateau with a broken neck. Was it an accident or was Albert helped down the stairs? Katherine cannot help but make some discreet inquiries to see who wished Albert harm. There is no shortage of suspects in this small town where Albert was not well-liked. Katherine needs to discern the gossip from the truth to find the culprit. Will Katherine succeed before harm comes to an innocent party?

Love and Death in Burgundy is easy to read, but I found the pace to be slow. Katherine is the main character, but there are numerous other characters included. Many of them are thrown at the reader at the beginning of the story. Jeanette, J.B. Holliday, Madame Pomfort, Sophie Bellegarde, Brett Holliday, Betty Lou Holliday, Penny Masterson, Marie, Emile, Yves Saverin, Pippa Hathaway, Michael Goff are just a sampling. Along with these characters, there are their storylines. I give Love and Death in Burgundy 3 out of 5 stars. Love and Death in Burgundy is more cozy than mystery. The mystery was far in the background (get out your binoculars). It seemed almost an afterthought. The main focus was Katherine. She needed to be accepted by these villagers (issues from her childhood). Time was devoted to her husband, Michael and his failed music career (he is very disgruntled). Let us not forget young Jeanette, daughter of the local thief. Jeanette is a fourteen and takes after her father. She likes to spy on the villagers and steal small items. Every character in the book is quirky or eccentric. There is just so much going on in this book. I wish the mystery had been the focal point of the story and that it was more complex (the potential was there). The little information provided about the crime allows the reader to easily solve it. There are French phrases and words sprinkled copiously throughout the book. I was grateful for the translate feature on my e-reader. The book does contain mild foul language. If you are a reader who likes quirky, off-beat humorous stories, then you will enjoy reading Love and Death in Burgundy. If you prefer a cozy mystery with more meat to it, than Love and Death in Burgundy is not the right story for you.

This is a great book with a wonderful story and well developed characters. The story flowed very well and was very enjoyable. This book will keep you reading long into the night and you will not want to put this book down until you finish. This was such a great read and full of surprises. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader’s copy of this book. The free book held no determination on my personal review.

This is a delightful read that transports the reader to a small village in France with all the enticing culture, food, humor and community richly described. You will immediately want to travel to such a lovely village.
Katherine and her husband Michael live in Burgundy as American expats.. Katherine is a artist and trying to fit in with the local community and neighbors. Her husband is a bit of a recluse and is happy not fitting in. As Katherine expands their world to include the many unique and humorous local people she finds a rare friendship among the residents. The author is unique in that she uses two main characters to tell their story in their own words, Katherine and a young teen neighbor with whom she becomes close. . This creates a rich fulfilling read that enticed me from page one. .
As Katherine explores her community and strives to fit in a crime occurs and she is drawn into the mystery. The crime puts the townspeople against each other and accusations begin to emerge , some against Katherine. The mystery is very well plotted and a highly enjoyable mystery that builds to a surprising conclusion.
I loved the atmosphere of a small village in France so richly described and enjoyable to read about The French people, the village , culture and food are to be savored as you will be delighted on every page. A quite enjoyable read that I highly recommend. Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read Love & Death in Burgundy. I look forward to the next in series by this fine author.

For some reason when I started to read this book I had difficulty with the foreign phrases and colloquialisms. I just couldn't wrap my head around it. Sorry!

Thanks St. Martin's and netgalley for this ARC.

Rousing, rambling, rambunctious village life under a microscope makes this a great beginning to a series. Can't wait to read the next tale.

Because their actions and conversations were so realistic, I felt as if I could have been a fly on the wall with this group of interesting and quirky characters. From the reasons why some of them moved to Burgundy and the gossipy nature of the friends and acquaintances to the standoffish attitudes of those who have lived there all their lives, the author shows a depth in her writing that I don’t always find in cozy mysteries.

While the mystery was neatly and believably tied up by the end of the book, I feel as if there are other loose ends, and I'd love to see the author turn this into a series because I really want to know what will happen with these characters next.

I loved the vibrant colors on the cover. The story was good, there were lots of details and the author told a good, solid mystery.
When a sudden death causes chaos in this story by Susan C. Shea, Katherine feels the needs to ask her own questions while the attempted to unravel the links and secrets in Love and Death in Burgundy.

I was honestly just unable to connect with this book, and so did not finish it. After the first three chapters, I stopped trying.

This is the charming story of Katherine Goff, an artist, and her almost rock star husband Michael who take the money from a legal settlement and buy an old house in the village of Reigny-sur-Canne in Burgundy, France. Katherine is anxious to become a part of the community and in order to win the approval of the local social arbiter, Mme. Pomfort, asks to take charge of the local festival. She hosts a luncheon for some other ex-pats as well as some locals to get their help with the festival. Among those invited is Adele Bellegrande, an elderly lady, who, with her husband Albert, live in the local historical chateau which has been in her family for generations. When Albert comes to pick up Adele he gets into an altercation with Yves, a local man who jilted their daughter. Later that night Albert is found dead, having fallen down a slick flight of stairs. Was it an accident or was he pushed? Katherine finds herself interacting with Adele and wonders what caused Albert's fall, This book is brimming with quirky characters, with the flavor of Burgundy and those that still find World War II a part of their lives and cannot forgive Albert for being born German, but most of all it is a story of what it means to uproot yourself and try to immerse yourself in the culture of a foreign country. It is an outstanding book and I would highly recommend it.

As an American ex-pat, Katherine Goff finds herself on the outside looking in in the village of Reigny-aur-Canne, even though she has been living there for three years. It takes the suspicious death of an elderly Frenchman for Katherine to get the inside track on her neighbors and other villagers. There are plenty of secrets and tensions simmering beneath the surface of this seemingly placid little village. And the more Katherine gets to know her neighbors, the more she wonders if she was better off being an outsider. Francophiles will love this cozy mystery